How To: Paint Your Pad

paint the damn room already

Ceiling Always start with the ceiling. Start with a brush cut-in, a 3-inch-thick strip in the corner where the ceiling meets the wall. This will ensure a neat look, and make the rolling seamless. Cut in the whole ceiling.

Pour paint into the roller tray and dip the roller in, removing excess paint by rolling over the ridges. Screw the roller into the extension pole.

Start at the corner and roll along the shortest length of the ceiling to keep the paint from drying too quickly. Paint while the cut-in is still wet. Try to keep it to one stroke. If you stop, start the line again.

Do the whole ceiling. Roll in a second coat once the first has dried.

Walls When the ceiling is dry (after approximately 24 hours), cut in the walls where they meet the ceiling. Now paint in square portions, using W-shaped strokes. That is, start at the ceiling, roll straight down (about halfway down the wall), then back up at a slight angle, overlapping the first stroke. Then roll straight back down again, and so forth. Painting straight up and down gives a bad striped-up look.

Do the rest of the wall. Wait for it to dry and apply a second coat in the same manner as the first.

Doors Cover the knobs and locks with masking tape. If the door is flat, treat it like a wall. If it has panels, start with the inner ones and move outwards. You can also remove the door and paint it on the floor.

Windows If you have double-hung windows (the type that open by sliding up and down) get ready for some serious work. You don't want to paint them shut, so follow these instructions:

Move each pane to the middle so that there's space on the top and bottom. Paint all the interior woodwork you can. Now close them both. Paint the rest.

Now paint the interior casing and the rails. Let it dry, move both panes up and paint the lower portion. Let dry again, move them down, and paint the top.

For a casement window (the type that swings open), painting should be straightforward. Just don't close them until the paint dries.

Floors If you decide to paint the floors, start at the corner diagonal from the door or you'll literally paint yourself into the corner. Apply a second coat quickly; you don't want parts of it to dry.